Turkish demonstrators dig in as Erdogan demands protests end
Source: Agencies |
June 9, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THOUSANDS of Turks dug in yesterday for a weekend of anti-government demonstrations despite Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's demand for an immediate end to protests that have spawned the most violent riots of his decade in power.
In central Istanbul's Taksim Square, where riot police backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles first clashed with protesters a week ago, activists spent the night in a makeshift protest camp, sleeping in tents and vandalized buses, or wrapped in blankets under plane trees.
Police fired teargas and water cannon on protesters in the working class Gazi neighbourhood of Istanbul, which saw heavy clashes with police in the 1990s, but the situation was quieter in the capital Ankara, where a few dozen demonstrators remained in tents in a central park.
In a rare show of unity, fans from Istanbul's three main football clubs Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, who have been heavily involved in, planned simultaneous marches on Taksim later yesterday.
What began as a campaign against the redevelopment of Gezi Park in a corner of Istanbul's Taksim Square spiralled into an unprecedented display of public anger over the perceived authoritarianism of Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party.
Riot police have clashed with groups of protesters night after night in cities across the country, leaving three dead and close to 5,000 injured, according to medics.
Erdogan has given no indication of plans to remove tents in Taksim, around which protesters have built barricades, clogging part of central Istanbul.
"Let them attack, they can't stop us," a member of the Turkish Communist Party shouted through loudspeakers to a cheering crowd from on top of a van in the square.
Taksim is lined by luxury hotels that should be doing a roaring trade as the summer season starts in one of the world's most-visited cities. But a forced eviction might trigger a repeat of clashes.
The gatherings mark a challenge to a leader whose authority is built on three successive election victories.
Erdogan has made clear he has no intention of stepping aside - pointing to the AK Party's 50 percent of the vote in the last election.
In central Istanbul's Taksim Square, where riot police backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles first clashed with protesters a week ago, activists spent the night in a makeshift protest camp, sleeping in tents and vandalized buses, or wrapped in blankets under plane trees.
Police fired teargas and water cannon on protesters in the working class Gazi neighbourhood of Istanbul, which saw heavy clashes with police in the 1990s, but the situation was quieter in the capital Ankara, where a few dozen demonstrators remained in tents in a central park.
In a rare show of unity, fans from Istanbul's three main football clubs Besiktas, Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, who have been heavily involved in, planned simultaneous marches on Taksim later yesterday.
What began as a campaign against the redevelopment of Gezi Park in a corner of Istanbul's Taksim Square spiralled into an unprecedented display of public anger over the perceived authoritarianism of Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party.
Riot police have clashed with groups of protesters night after night in cities across the country, leaving three dead and close to 5,000 injured, according to medics.
Erdogan has given no indication of plans to remove tents in Taksim, around which protesters have built barricades, clogging part of central Istanbul.
"Let them attack, they can't stop us," a member of the Turkish Communist Party shouted through loudspeakers to a cheering crowd from on top of a van in the square.
Taksim is lined by luxury hotels that should be doing a roaring trade as the summer season starts in one of the world's most-visited cities. But a forced eviction might trigger a repeat of clashes.
The gatherings mark a challenge to a leader whose authority is built on three successive election victories.
Erdogan has made clear he has no intention of stepping aside - pointing to the AK Party's 50 percent of the vote in the last election.
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